Security of tenure was created by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (‘1954 Act’). It gives a tenant the right to renew a business lease on the same terms as the existing lease. The landlord is able to resist a renewal, but only if they can demonstrate one of the statutory grounds for doing so.
If the 1954 Act applies, the tenancy is known as a ‘protected tenancy’. It automatically applies to all business tenancies, but it is possible to opt out if certain conditions are met.
Benefit for tenants
The right to renew a lease on the same terms as their existing lease gives business tenants peace of mind and confidence that they can build their business from their premises. Without this security they would face having to relocate at the expiry of their lease each time. Leases are often granted for three or five years and businesses would face significant upheaval and cost if they were required to relocate on their expiry.
Restrictions on landlords
Landlords are unable to evict tenants at the end of a commercial lease unless they are able to demonstrate one of the permitted grounds for doing so, which are that:
the tenant did not keep the property in a good state of repair;
the rent was frequently late;
the tenant committed substantial breaches of other obligations under the tenancy agreement;
the landlord is able to offer suitable alternative premises;
the property was a sub-let of a whole property and the landlord is able to obtain a greater rent by letting it as a whole;
the landlord wishes to demolish or otherwise redevelop the property; or
the landlord intends to occupy the premise.
It should be noted that being able to obtain higher rent or longer term from a different tenant or the landlord wishing to sell the property are not valid grounds for terminating the tenancy.
Control for landlords
Landlords are able to avoid these restrictions by asking the tenant to opt out of security of tenure. They can only do so prior to the commencement of the tenancy. Notice must be served no fewer than 14 days before the lease is entered into. The prospective tenant must then make a statutory declaration agreeing to opt out of the provisions.
Many landlords require all prospective tenants to opt out of security of tenure if they are to agree to grant them a lease. That is not to say that they would not consider granting a new lease, but that they do not wish to be required to do so on the same terms as the existing one. For example, a landlord may have agreed to a three year lease with an 18 month break clause for a first lease. Even if the rent were to remain the same, the landlord may wish to remove the break clause.
Ending protected tenancies
If a tenancy is protected, a landlord may still offer a new lease on different terms. They must serve a notice on their tenant stating the date the current tenancy will end and setting out the new offer. There are certain, specific requirements for the notice to be valid. It must be served not more than 12 and no fewer than 6 months prior to the date the term is due to end. It must be clear, in writing and served correctly. It must state within the notice how it was served, when and on whom. If there are multiple tenants, it must be served on all of them.
If the tenant does not respond, the tenancy will end on the date stated in the lease. If they do, they must either agree the new terms or reject them. This is article is not intended to offer advice to either landlords on tenants on how to proceed in the event of a dispute and so we do not propose to say more on how to proceed if you are a landlord or tenant involved in a dispute of the renewal of a protected tenancy, but there are articles available that provide an overview and one such feature is here: https://www.netlawman.co.uk/ia/section-25-notice
The process is the same if the landlord can demonstrate one of the permitted grounds. However, if the tenant objects and requests a new lease, the landlord will succeed in resisting this if the ground is proven.
Tenant’s renewal
To renew, the tenant must serve notice requiring a lease on the same terms. It must be served no more than 12, but no fewer than 6 months before the end of the tenancy. However, the tenant may not serve notice if the landlord has first served notice. As such, tenants who wish to renew on identical terms are wise to serve on the first day possible.
Landlords only have the right to refuse the renewal if they can demonstrate one of the permitted grounds.
Tenant’s termination
If a tenancy is protected, a tenant may still choose to leave at the end of their lease. they must serve at least three months’ notice and this must expire no earlier tan the expiry date of the lease.
Help and assistance
Whether you are a landlord or tenant entering into a new lease or seeking to end a lease, it is wise to take legal advice. MJV Solicitors are based in Thornton-Cleveleys, near Blackpool and provide expert assistance and advice on all areas of commercial property law.
For a free, no obligation consultation, either call us on 01253 858231 or e-mail info@mjvlaw.co.uk
by MJV&Co
Refusing entry for repairs
There are many things that arise regularly in housing disrepair claims and landlords claiming tenants refuse entry to undertake repairs is one.
Landlords have the right to enter your property, provided they give reasonable notice to either carry out an inspection or repairs.
Breach of tenancy agreement
As landlords have the right to enter, such a refusal is a breach of a tenancy agreement. If this were to happen regularly, it could lead to eviction. Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 allows evictions on certain, specific grounds. These are found at Schedule 2 of that Act and Ground 12 is that:
“The Tenant has breached any of the terms listed in the tenancy agreement”.
If you are a tenant of a housing association or council, it is likely that the type of tenancy you have would not enable your landlord to evict you using Section 21 of the Act and so eviction is only normally possible when the agreement is breached.
Housing disrepair claim
It is not common for us to encounter a client who has been, or has been threatened with being, evicted for failing to allow entry. Instead, the issue arises in the course of their housing disrepair claim.
A tenant must give notice of any items of disrepair.
For more information on notice requirements, read our guide to this https://www.mjvlaw.co.uk/legal-news/housing-disrepair-notice/
Once notice has been given, the tenant must allow their landlord access to undertake inspection and then undertake any repairs. While it sounds obvious that a tenant would allow entry for repairs they have reported, this is not always the case.
Often, tenants are unhappy with the work that their landlord has proposed. We often encounter landlords who misdiagnose a problem and try and solve it multiple times despite it failing to do so previously. This is common with damp. Landlords inspect and find damp. They treat the walls with damp treatment or paint and consider the problem solved. When it reappears, they return and apply the same treatment. In one case, the landlord did this five times.
It is not unreasonable for a tenant to be frustrated by such behaviour. Such landlords are clearly in breach of their repairing obligations under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. As of 20 March 2020, they are also likely to be in breach of them under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 also.
However, to refuse access remains a breach of the tenant’s responsibilities and would provide the landlord with a defence to any claim.
What to do instead
If you have a housing disrepair issue and your landlord fails to address it correctly, contact MJV Solicitors for help.
Even when we are involved, we advise our clients to allow access and to ensure that they comply with the tenancy agreement.
If, as in the example above, your landlord has failed to properly investigate an issue and undertaken inadequate repairs, we can help. We will instruct a specialist surveyor to attend the property and prepare an expert report. It is extremely common for it to be revealed that there was a more serious, underlying problem that the landlord had chosen to ignore or missed entirely.
If a landlord continues to carry out inadequate repairs it is unlikely that these would disguise the true problem and so there is nothing to gain for a tenant by refusing entry.
False allegations
It is also common for us to act for clients who are accused of refusing entry, but deny this. The truth varies from case to case:
We have acted for clients who have been at home waiting for workmen and there has been no knock at the door. Later, they noticed that a card had been pushed through claiming that they had “missed them”. They called their landlord to explain, but nobody came a second time. This has happened far more than once;
We have acted for clients whose landlords claimed to have made appointments of which our clients had no idea so did not stay in; and
Many of our clients are vulnerable and so when workmen arrive without valid photographic ID they, quite rightly, refuse entry.
Landlords we have made claims about have all used these as excuses for trying to refuse claims. We support and help our clients and so tend to succeed with such claims.
Your claim
MJV Solicitors are based near Blackpool,but serve all of England and Wales for housing disrepair claims and have clients from the Isle of Wight, to South Wales to the North East. If you think you may have a claim, call us today on 01253 858231 or e-mail michael.vincent@mjvlaw.co.uk for a free, no obligation discussion.
If we accept your claim it will be on a no win no fee basis and, in addition to the repairs we can require your landlord to undertake, we can obtain you compensation.
For more on compensation and how it is calculated, read our guide https://www.mjvlaw.co.uk/legal-news/housing-disrepair-compensation/
by MJV&Co
Rising damp
Our client moved into a new home in 2015. Soon afterwards she noticed damp and mould forming in the porch and living room. She tried to clean it, but it got worse and so it was reported to her landlord.
Her landlord sent an agent to carry out an inspection. They claimed it was related to condensation so workmen came and painted over it, but the problem soon returned. It continued to get worse over the next few years.
Our client did the right thing. She continued to report the problems. Her landlord undertook several inspections and kept trying to paint over the affected areas. They tried this numerous times over several years, but, just as it did not work the first time, it did not work the fifth or sixth time.
The problem seemed to stem from the area around the chimney breast in the living room. Our client informed her landlord of this, but they appeared not to listen.
For more information on the requirements for notice see our guide to the subject https://www.mjvlaw.co.uk/legal-news/housing-disrepair-notice/
Expert’s Report
We instructed an expert surveyor to carry out an inspection. He did so and produced a comprehensive report that the landlord had no choice but to agree with.
He found the following issues:
The Cause of the Damp
The damp in the porch was penetrating damp. It had been retro-fitted with a damp proof course that had failed. It was installed above ground level and so was ineffective. It needed to be replaced and the damage caused repaired.
In the living room, the damp proof course around the chimney breast had failed. This was just as our client had suspected.
His report recommended that the plaster and skirting boards be removed and a chemical damp proof course applied. Once the treatment had been completed, the wall needed to be re-plastered, new skirting boards fitted and the room decorated.
The hallway had also fallen into disrepair due to the damp in the porch and hallway. It was recommended that, once the works were complete, the hallway be redecorated at the landlord’s expense.
Repairs
The landlord’s surveyor agreed with our expert’s findings. Her landlord arranged for the works to be completed quickly, as this client was elderly and vulnerable. They were satisfactorily completed and our client’s property was returned to the condition it should always have been in.
Compensation
Our client also accepted an offer of £4,000 in compensation. The problem had persisted for around three years prior to our instruction.
For more information on the way compensation is determined please see our introductory guide at https://www.mjvlaw.co.uk/legal-news/housing-disrepair-compensation/
Your Claim
If you live in a council or housing association property and your landlord has not undertaken repairs when requested, you may have a claim for housing disrepair.
If we are able to assist you, we will do so on a no win no fee basis.
For your free initial consultation, e-mail info@mjvlaw.co.uk or call us on 01253 858231. We can provide you with expert advice at no cost to you unless your claim succeeds.
